The variety and multiplicity of electronic equipment or devices capable of inter-exchanging coded or non-coded digital data make the pairing of this equipment difficult. This equipment can inter-communicate using wireless links, which happens when data exchanges take place using Internet type networks. For short distance exchanges, Bluetooth or Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) links are frequently used.
Recognition protocols exist enabling the recognition, based on an equipment item or a terminal, of neigh boring terminals, including those that said equipment user does not know. Neighboring terminals are, for example, displayed on a display screen of the equipment.
To facilitate the interaction and data exchanges between these terminals, processes exist so that the equipment pairs easily, i.e. so that they can inter-exchange data or so that they can update the data in one of the equipment items, from another equipment item. Thus one can pair, for example, two mobile phones, or a mobile phone with a printer, or a phonecam with a photographic kiosk.
Known processes of the state of the art describe radio frequency wireless identifier means, like for example radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders or visual identifier means, like barcode labels with one or two dimensions. Or even, hybrid identifiers, as described in International Patent Application WO 2006/011729 A1.
Radio frequency identifier technology, RFID, is standardized through standards and based on the use of radio frequencies. It requires particular radio frequency identifier means and associated read device (or interrogators) that can operate in different frequency bands, for example low frequencies, or high frequencies.
RFID transponders can be radio frequency identifiers specific to an equipment item. The equipment is, for example, a printer or photographic kiosk equipped with an image printing unit. In this case, these radio frequency identifiers contain recorded digital data, like for example the coded address of the equipment in a communication network. A radio frequency identifier comprises a support, for example self-adhesive, a chip equipped with a microprocessor, an antenna and, possibly, an energy source such as a battery. Radio frequency identifiers that are energy self-sufficient are called “active.” Thus the radio frequency identifier can be energy self-sufficient. The chip of the radio frequency identifier also comprises a memory to record digital data, like for example an equipment identifier. An active read-write device of the radio frequency identifier can interact with the radio frequency identifier by means of inductive coupling at preset frequencies (low, high, or ultra-high frequencies), by recognizing and decoding a carrier signal of information specific to the radio frequency identifier. The active read-write device of the radio frequency identifier comprises a signal transmitter that activates the radio frequency identifier when it is for example approached to a few centimeters, or a few tens of centimeters from the radio frequency identifier. By the means of an electromagnetic field inherent to this inductive coupling, the active radio frequency device can thus read the digital data recorded in the radio frequency identifier, and write or modify, i.e. update the digital data recorded in the radio frequency identifier.
The RFID technology, implemented with processes and systems using RFID transponders, in particular can enable the easy and rapid identification, for example of equipment or a packaging product that is equipped with a radio frequency identifier. However, a disadvantage remains in relation to the configuration and updating of radio frequency identifiers. These configuration and updating operations also require having an active read-write device of the radio frequency identifier. The active read-write device executes operations of reading digital data recorded in the radio frequency identifier and writing or modifying these digital data.
For cost reasons, equipment or products each bearing their specific radio frequency identifier are not generally each equipped with their own radio frequency read-write device, as the cost of the radio frequency read-write device is substantially higher (ten times higher on average) than that of the radio frequency identifier.
Furthermore, even if a single radio frequency read-write device is used to couple with a plurality of radio frequency identifiers, the above-mentioned disadvantage remains, which is that of the configuration and updating of data that require inputting, in the active radio frequency read-write device, the various packets of data recorded in the radio frequency identifier. The data are entered manually into the read-write device, which requires long and demanding manual input operations that are moreover subject to errors. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid this data inputting into the radio frequency read-write device.
Radio frequency identifiers of the state of the art have a lifetime of several years and are configured once, to be operational, for example in a system comprising electronic equipment equipped with radio frequency devices. When these radio frequency identifiers have to be updated, for the digital data that they contain, a manual intervention is required using a specific device, which is, for example, a RFID reader. Thus, the RFID reader must be updated to then work together, by a radio link, with the radio frequency identifier and update the latter's data. The above-mentioned disadvantage is that, when a data update of the radio frequency identifier has to be performed, the update data are input manually into the radio frequency read-write device (or RFID reader) and require a number of more or less complex operations, therefore costly, and introducing risks of inputting errors.